Effects of listening to music, and of using a handheld and handsfree telephone on cycling behaviour

The effects of listening to music on cycling behaviour were evaluated. Twenty-five participants completed a track on a bicycle while listening to music with two standard earbuds, with one earbud, and with two in-earbuds. Conditions with high tempo music and loud volume were also included in the experiment, as were two mobile phone conditions, one in which participants operated the phone hand held and one handsfree condition. Cycle speed was not affected by listening to music, but was reduced in the telephone conditions. In general the response to auditory signals worsened when participants listened to music, in particular when listening with in-earbuds loud auditory stop signals were missed in 68% of the cases. However, when listening with only one standard earbud performance was not affected. In the conditions when participants listened to high volume and to high tempo music, the auditory stop signal was also heard in significantly fewer cases. Completing a task on the mobile phone, using both handheld and handsfree sets, resulted in increased response time to an auditory stop signal and also reduced overall auditory perception. Furthermore, handsfree operation only had minor advantages opposed to hand held operation, with only response time to an auditory stop signal resulting in faster performance. This is likely to be related to the fact that both hands could be used for braking. It is concluded that listening to music worsens auditory perception, in particular if in-earbuds are used. Furthermore, both handheld and handsfree operation of mobile phones has a negative effect on perception, potentially forming a threat to cyclist traffic safety. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Demonstration of the self-mixing effect in interband cascade lasers

In this Letter, we demonstrate the self-mixing effect in an interband cascade laser. We show that a viable self-mixing signal can be acquired through the variation in voltage across the laser terminals, thereby removing the need for an external detector. Using this interferometric technique, we have measured the displacement of a remote target, and also demonstrated high resolution imaging of a target. The proposed scheme represents a highly sensitive, compact, and self-aligned sensing technique with potential for materials analysis in the mid-infrared. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC

Evaluation of patients on sertindole treatment after failure of other antipsychotics: A retrospective analysis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Use of the atypical antipsychotic sertindole was suspended for four years due to safety concerns. During the suspension, the regulatory authorities required further studies, including this one, to be conducted. The purpose of this study was to determine if a subset of patients with psychotic illness exists which particularly benefits from sertindole treatment after failure of other antipsychotic drugs, including atypical antipsychotics.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This was a retrospective single-arm observational crossover study of 344 patients, who served as their own controls. Patients mainly from the Sertindole Safety Study who had shown good response to sertindole, and who had followed up to four alternating six month periods of treatment with sertindole and other antipsychotics, were included. (In Period 1 patients took non-sertindole treatment, in Period 2, sertindole was taken, in Period 3, patients reverted to non-sertindole treatment, and in Period 4, sertindole was taken again.) Patient records for each period of treatment were assessed for objective data: number and duration of hospitalizations due to worsening of psychotic symptoms; the amount of self-harming behaviour; indicators of social status. Retrospective evaluation of changes in clinical symptoms from the patients' records was also conducted. Dates and reasons for stopping and/or switching medication were also recorded.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There was improvement in all objective measured parameters during the periods of sertindole treatment. In particular, the average number of hospitalizations per year due to worsening of psychotic symptoms was reduced in the following way in the group studied over four treatment periods: Period 1 (non-sertindole treatment) 3.4; Period 2 (sertindole treatment) 1.0; Period 3 (non-sertindole treatment) 2.0; Period 4 (sertindole treatment) 1.8. The duration of hospitalizations also decreased significantly during the periods of sertindole treatment. Results showed that patients improved in objective social parameters when switched to sertindole treatment; assessment of the patients' affective lives showed a significant increase in the number of patients having a stable relationship during sertindole treatment; and assessment of the number of patients employed showed an increase after the first and second switch to sertindole treatment (from Period 1 to Period 2 and from Period 3 to Period 4, respectively).</p> <p>Adverse events and lack of efficacy were the main reasons for switching to sertindole.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>A group of patients benefited from sertindole after other antipsychotic treatments, including that with atypical antipsychotics, had failed. Further studies are needed to investigate if there is a specific patient profile that corresponds to these responders.</p

Relapse according to antipsychotic treatment in schizophrenic patients: a propensity-adjusted analysis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Objective</p> <p>To compare the rate of relapse as a function of antipsychotic treatment (monotherapy vs. polypharmacy) in schizophrenic patients over a 2-year period.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Using data from a multicenter cohort study conducted in France, we performed a propensity-adjusted analysis to examine the association between the rate of relapse over a 2-year period and antipsychotic treatment (monotherapy vs. polypharmacy).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Our sample consisted in 183 patients; 50 patients (27.3%) had at least one period of relapse and 133 had no relapse (72.7%). Thirty-eight (37.7) percent of the patients received polypharmacy. The most severely ill patients were given polypharmacy: the age at onset of illness was lower in the polypharmacy group (p = 0.03). Patients that received polypharmacy also presented a higher general psychopathology PANSS subscore (p = 0.04) but no statistically significant difference was found in the PANSS total score or the PANSS positive or negative subscales. These patients were more likely to be given prescriptions for sedative drugs (p < 0.01) and antidepressant medications (p = 0.03). Relapse was found in 23.7% of patients given monotherapy and 33.3% given polypharmacy (p = 0.16). After stratification according to quintiles of the propensity score, which eliminated all significant differences for baseline characteristics, antipsychotic polypharmacy was not statistically associated with an increase of relapse: HR = 1.686 (0.812; 2.505).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>After propensity score adjustment, antipsychotic polypharmacy is not statistically associated to an increase of relapse. Future randomised studies are needed to assess the impact of antipsychotic polypharmacy in schizophrenia.</p

Effectiveness of second generation antipsychotics: A systematic review of randomized trials

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Systematic reviews based on efficacy trials are inconclusive about which second generation antipsychotic drug (SGA) should be preferred in normal clinical practice, and studies with longer duration and more pragmatic designs are called for. Effectiveness studies, also known as naturalistic, pragmatic, practical or real life studies, adhere to these principles as they aim to mimic daily clinical practice and have longer follow-up.</p> <p>Objective</p> <p>To review the head-to-head effectiveness of SGAs in the domains of global outcomes, symptoms of disease, and tolerability.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Searches were made in Embase, PubMED, and the Cochrane central register of controlled trials for effectiveness studies published from 1980 to 2008, week 1. Different combinations of the keywords <it>antipsychotic*, neuroleptic* AND open, pragmatic, practical, naturalistic, real life, effectiveness, side effect*, unwanted effect*, tolera* AND compar* AND random* </it>were used.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Sixteen different reports of randomized head-to-head comparisons of SGA effectiveness were located. There were differences regarding sample sizes, inclusion criteria and follow-up periods, as well as sources of financial sponsorship. In acute-phase and first-episode patients no differences between the SGAs were disclosed regarding alleviating symptoms of disease. Olanzapine was associated with more weight gain and adverse effects on serum lipids. In the chronic phase patients olanzapine groups had longer time to discontinuation of treatment and better treatment adherence compared to other SGAs. The majority of studies found no differences between the SGAs in alleviating symptoms of psychosis in chronically ill patients. Olanzapine was associated with more metabolic adverse effects compared to the others SGAs. There were surprisingly few between-drug differences regarding side effects. First generation antipsychotics were associated with lower total mental health care costs in 2 of 3 studies on chronically ill patients, but were also associated with more extrapyramidal side effects compared to the SGAs in several studies.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In chronically ill patients olanzapine may have an advantage over other SGAs regarding longer time to treatment discontinuation and better drug adherence, but the drug is also associated with more metabolic side effects. More effectiveness studies on first-episode psychosis are needed.</p

Influence of obesity-related risk factors in the aetiology of glioma

BACKGROUND: Obesity and related factors have been implicated as possible aetiological factors for the development of glioma in epidemiological observation studies. We used genetic markers in a Mendelian randomisation framework to examine whether obesity-related traits influence glioma risk. This methodology reduces bias from confounding and is not affected by reverse causation. METHODS: Genetic instruments were identified for 10 key obesity-related risk factors, and their association with glioma risk was evaluated using data from a genome-wide association study of 12,488 glioma patients and 18,169 controls. The estimated odds ratio of glioma associated with each of the genetically defined obesity-related traits was used to infer evidence for a causal relationship. RESULTS: No convincing association with glioma risk was seen for genetic instruments for body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, lipids, type-2 diabetes, hyperglycaemia or insulin resistance. Similarly, we found no evidence to support a relationship between obesity-related traits with subtypes of glioma-glioblastoma (GBM) or non-GBM tumours. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides no evidence to implicate obesity-related factors as causes of glioma

Genome-wide association analyses of symptom severity among clozapine-treated patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders

Clozapine is the most effective antipsychotic for patients with treatment-resistant schizophrenia. However, response is highly variable and possible genetic underpinnings of this variability remain unknown. Here, we performed polygenic risk score (PRS) analyses to estimate the amount of variance in symptom severity among clozapine-treated patients explained by PRSs (R2) and examined the association between symptom severity and genotype-predicted CYP1A2, CYP2D6, and CYP2C19 enzyme activity. Genome-wide association (GWA) analyses were performed to explore loci associated with symptom severity. A multicenter cohort of 804 patients (after quality control N = 684) with schizophrenia spectrum disorder treated with clozapine were cross-sectionally assessed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale and/or the Clinical Global Impression-Severity (CGI-S) scale. GWA and PRS regression analyses were conducted. Genotype-predicted CYP1A2, CYP2D6, and CYP2C19 enzyme activities were calculated. Schizophrenia-PRS was most significantly and positively associated with low symptom severity (p = 1.03 × 10−3; R2 = 1.85). Cross-disorder-PRS was also positively associated with lower CGI-S score (p = 0.01; R2 = 0.81). Compared to the lowest tertile, patients in the highest schizophrenia-PRS tertile had 1.94 times (p = 6.84×10−4) increased probability of low symptom severity. Higher genotype-predicted CYP2C19 enzyme activity was independently associated with lower symptom severity (p = 8.44×10−3). While no locus surpassed the genome-wide significance threshold, rs1923778 within NFIB showed a suggestive association (p = 3.78×10−7) with symptom severity. We show that high schizophrenia-PRS and genotype-predicted CYP2C19 enzyme activity are independently associated with lower symptom severity among individuals treated with clozapine. Our findings open avenues for future pharmacogenomic projects investigating the potential of PRS and genotype-predicted CYP-activity in schizophrenia